Kaká

This article is about the Brazilian footballer. For other uses of Kaka, please see kaka (disambiguation).

Kaká

Personal information
Full name	Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
Height	1.83 m (6 ft)
Position(s)	Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team	A.C. Milan
Number	22
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 13, 2006

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born April 22, 1982), better known as Kaká, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Brazil and the Serie A club A.C. Milan. He is widely regarded by football pundits as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Biography

Kaká was born in Brasília, Brazil. He has one younger brother, Rodrigo Ifrano Dos Santos Leite, known as Digão, who has followed in Kaká's footsteps by playing soccer in Italy and is currently on loan with Serie B team Rimini, after having spent some time in the AC Milan youth squad.

The nickname Kaká, from his native Portuguese, is pronounced as it is spelled. The accent would signify that the stress is on the second syllable. In Italian, the language of his current club team, the phonetic equivalent is written as Kakà. However, the player's shirt name is spelled KAKA' (with an apostrophe, rather than an accented 'A') for both his club in Milan and in the past for the Brazilian national team. As of World Cup 2006 the back of his shirt reads KAKÁ.

An internet discussion forum explains the nickname as a commonly used shortened form of "Ricardo" in Portuguese. Supposedly, Kaká recieved his nickname from his little brother, Rodrigo, who could not pronounce the word "Ricardo" when they were young. Rodrigo called his older brother "Caca" which the latter later changed to "Kaká".

In September 2000, Kaká suffered an accident when he made a faulty jump off a diving board, resulting in a 6th vertebra fracture. This could have meant the end of his football career. It did not, however, and he has stated that he feels that Jesus was responsible for his recovery. When AC Milan won the Serie A title in 2004, Kaká subtly sported a shirt with the slogan "I belong to Jesus." He also points his fingers to the sky every time he scores. Kaká is a devout, evangelical Protestant Christian and a long-time member of "Athletes For God," along with fellow famous Brazilian player, Cafu. Kaká has stated in interviews that he loves gospel music, namely music by the Christian bands Switchfoot and Sonicflood.

Personal life

Kaká married Caroline Celico, then 18, on 23 December, 2005 in São Paulo. The wedding was attended by about 600 people, including fellow players from his national team, as well as other well known international players. Guests included Ronaldo, Adriano, Cafu, Dida, Júlio Baptista and Brazilian national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. Kaká first met Celico, who comes from a wealthy São Paulo family, in 2002, and they started dating soon after. The relationship survived Kaká's move from São Paulo to Italy in 2003, while she was still at school. It is likely that Celico will stay in Brazil in the short-run, but the couple plan to live together in Italy soon. Against the stereotypical trend of football stars, Kaká is proud he was a virgin when he married.[1] Celico's mother, Rosângela Lyra, is the director of Dior in Brazil.

Career

International career

Kaká made his international debut in January 2002 against Bolivia. He was a part of the national squad at the

, but did not see much action even as Brazil won the World Championship, playing just 19 minutes of a first round match against Costa Rica. In 2003, he was the captain for the Gold Cup tournament in the US and Mexico, leading Brazil to second place. This feat included scoring key goals against Colombia. Later, he was in action at the c. 2004 and the 2005 Confederations Cup, which were both won by Brazil, with Kakà scoring in the Confederation Cup final win over Argentina. (During the postmatch celebration, he and several of his teammates sported T-shirts with "Jesus Loves You" written in different languages.) He finished in joint tenth place in the voting for the 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award. In the 2005 competition he finished two places higher. More recently, he has helped Brazil qualify for the

. Kaká has matured as a player and is currently considered one of the best Brazilian footballers. He scored Brazil's first goal in the

against Croatia on 13 June 2006.

He wears the number 8 shirt for the national squad.

2006 World Cup

In the first match for Brazil, in group F, Kaká scored a goal in the 44th minute against Croatia. A left footed strike from 25 meters out led Brazil to victory, 1-0. After the match, the media regarded him as the only member of the "magic quintet" – comprising of Adriano, Kaká, Ronaldo, Robinho and Ronaldinho – that produced.

Club career

Kaká made his debut at São Paulo FC in 2001 when he was only 19 years old. That season he scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, and a further 10 goals in 22 appearances the following season, soon attracting attention from European clubs, and it was Milan who won the race to sign him.

He joined AC Milan in 2003 for $8.5m, a fee described as "peanuts" by club owner Silvio Berlusconi. Within a month, he had become part of the first team and has held his position ever since. His first appearance came in a match at Ancona, which Milan won 2-0. In all, he scored 10 goals in 30 appearances that season, winning the Italian Serie A Championship and the European Super Cup.

Kaká was an integral part of the team in the 2004-05 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind team-mate and good friend, striker Andriy Shevchenko, in a five-man midfield. He scored 7 goals in 36 league appearances, and also won the Italian Super Cup with the club. Milan finished second to Juventus in the Serie A, and lost the UEFA Champions League final to Liverpool on penalty kicks. He was, however, voted the best midfielder in the European tournament. He also ended up ninth position on the 2005 Golden Ball standing, earning 19 votes.

One of Kaká's more famous goals was the one against Fenerbahçe SK, during AC Milan's first game in the 2005-06 Champions League, won 3-1 by the Rossoneri, and which had pundits drawing instant comparisons with Diego Maradona. Kakà started his run from midfield and skipped past three tackles before entering the area and finishing with a low shot under Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Volkan Demirel.

On April 9, 2006, he scored his first Serie A hat-trick, against Chievo Verona. All three goals were scored in the second half.

He wears the number 22 shirt for the Milan giants. He also most recently extended his Milan contract until 2011.

Club career statistics

Club	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cup & Super Cup		Continental Championship		Toyota Cup		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
AC Milan	2005-06	33	14	2	0	8	5	-	-	38	19
	2004-05	36	7	2	0	13	2	-	-	51	9
	2003-04	30	10	4	0	13	2	1	0	48	12
	Total	93	25	8	0	33	8	1	0	134	33
São Paulo FC	2003	9	2			0	0	-	-	9	2
	2002	22	9			0	0	-	-	22	9
	2001	27	12			0	0	-	-	27	12
	Total	58	23	0	0	0	0	-	-	58	23
Career Totals		152	48	8	0	33	8	1	0	193	56

External links

• Profile at ACMilan.com
• Profile at FootballDatabase.com
• Kaká Fan's Website
• The Best Kaka Fansite